The would-be jihadist raised suspicions with authorities but was allowed to leave the country before being detained in the United Arab Emirates.

He was reportedly travelling on his brother's passport.

Mr Abbott said he was pleased the man had been detained but tougher security measures were needed.

Advertisement

"It's not good enough," Mr Abbott said during a visit to the Joint Operation Command Centre near Canberra on Friday.

The federal government is investing $630 million over the next four years on security measures to combat the threat of foreign fighters returning from the Middle East.

This will include biometric screening at airports.

Mr Abbott said the fact the man was eventually detained was a better outcome than a similar recent case, referring to convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf.

Sharrouf - despite being a convicted terrorist - managed to evade scrutiny and leave Australia late last year. He's since been accused of taking part in atrocities in Iraq and Syria.

He shot to notoriety this week when he posted an image online of his seven-year-old son holding the severed head of a slain Syrian soldier.

Despite his boasts online, Sharrouf has been described as mentally disturbed and having a history of drug abuse and petty crime.

A former Supreme Court justice who oversaw a major terrorism case implicating Sharrouf in 2005 told the ABC the young man had schizophrenia and been a high school dropout later lured by radical Islam.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said he was "astounded" the government had not yet explained how Sharrouf managed to avoid detection in the first place.

"Now we're getting disturbing reports that other jihadists are escaping under the noses of our authorities," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Abbott said radical Islamist militants in Iraq had been checked by US air strikes, but the situation "remains perilous".

US President Barack Obama says the Mount Sinjar siege by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq has been broken and further humanitarian air drops such as those conducted by the RAAF probably won't be needed.

Mr Abbott said while the extremists' advance had been checked and the humanitarian mission paused it was important to keep options open should the advance resume.